Every website will face data loss eventually — a hack, a bad update, accidental deletion, or server failure. Backups determine whether recovery takes minutes or is impossible.

How often to back up

Daily automated backups are the minimum for any business site. E-commerce and booking sites with frequent transactions should back up more often — every few hours or in real time.

What to include

Back up the database, uploaded files, media, configuration, and source code if it lives on the server. A backup missing any component is incomplete.

Where to store backups

Keep backups off-site and off-server. If your server is compromised, on-server backups go with it. Use a separate cloud storage location.

Retention policy

Keep daily backups for two weeks, weekly backups for a month, and monthly backups for six months. Adjust based on how often your content changes.

Test restores regularly

A backup nobody has tested is unreliable. Restore to a staging environment quarterly and confirm the site works. This is the step most people skip.

Automate everything

Manual backups get forgotten. Set up automated daily backups with monitoring that alerts you if a backup fails.

Version control for code

Source code should live in Git, not just in backups. Git gives you history, rollback, and collaboration. Backups protect data; version control protects code.

Document the recovery process

Write down how to restore from backup before you need to. During an outage, you will not have time to figure it out.

The takeaway

Back up daily, store off-site, test restores quarterly, and automate the process. Backups only matter when they work under pressure.

Hedztech sets up reliable backup and recovery for every project. Explore cloud services and web development, or book a consultation.